What’s more fun than going down a big, yellow, 17-foot slide with an eight-foot drop? How about doing it on the way into work—or while waiting for a trolley—or on the way to a show at the Coliseum?

City crews are in the process of installing just such a slide at the parking garage for the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum that will welcome kids and adults alike to hop on and enjoy some unexpected fun.

Soon to be opened in March 2017, this slide at the Coliseum is a test project for the Knoxville Slides initiative, which takes advantage of Knoxville’s hilly terrain to build embankment (in-the-ground) slides.

The idea for Knoxville Slides was generated by a local committee brainstorming for a national “Play Everywhere Challenge” offered by KaBOOM!, who selected Knoxville as one of 50 recipients out of 1,000 applications to receive a $25,500 grant.

The challenge asked cities to come up with unique play options built within city infrastructure. Criteria for the grant asked for irresistible, inclusive and unexpected play opportunities that kids and adults alike would happen upon through daily life in downtown districts.

The site of the first slide at the Coliseum parking garage is expected to have high traffic, given that the Coliseum and Civic Auditorium receive thousands of guests for a variety of shows including concerts, Ice Bear hockey games, graduation ceremonies, and dance recitals, to name a few.

In addition to high foot traffic, some perks for the slide include added security lighting and a location across the street from the Knoxville Police Department headquarters.

The site is also home to the primary stop for Knoxville Area Transit’s free downtown trolley service, and City officials hope that families waiting for trolley services will opt to play together on the slide rather than sit on a bench.

Additionally, many commuters park in the garage during the workweek and since the slide is capable of handling adults, they will also have the chance at a little fun on the way to work.

Adjacent to the slide will be “crawl hoops” that children will get to use as somewhat of a tunnel-ladder hybrid, exercising their arms on one side of the slide. Alternatively, they will have the choice to exercise their legs using the garage’s original stairs on the other side of the slide.

But let’s be realistic—the kids won’t be thinking about exercise when they’re on their way to go down that slide again!

Stay tuned for more information on the first opening of a Knoxville Slides project!